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Books by Jonathan White

Research paper thumbnail of In the Long Run: the Future as a Political Idea (Profile Books, 2024)

Democracy is future-oriented and self-correcting: today's problems can be solved, we are told, in... more Democracy is future-oriented and self-correcting: today's problems can be solved, we are told, in tomorrow's elections. But the biggest issues facing the modern world - from climate collapse and pandemics to recession and world war - each apparently bring us to the edge of the irreversible. What happens to democracy when the future seems no longer open?

Research paper thumbnail of Politics of Last Resort: Governing by Emergency in the European Union (Oxford University Press, 2019 / 2020), Introduction

Oxford University Press, 2019

Prominent in the EU’s recent transformations has been the tendency to advance extraordinary measu... more Prominent in the EU’s recent transformations has been the tendency to advance extraordinary measures in the name of crisis response. From emergency lending to macro-economics, border management to Brexit, policies are pursued unconventionally and as measures of last resort. This book investigates the nature, rise, and implications of this politics of emergency as it appears in the transnational setting. As the author argues, recourse to this method of rule is an expression of the deeper weakness of executive power in today’s Europe. It is how policy-makers contend with rising socio-economic pressures and diminishing representative ties, seeking fall-back authority in the management of crises. In the structure of the EU they find incentives and few impediments. Whereas political exceptionalism tends to be associated with sovereign power, here it is power’s diffusion and functional disaggregation that spurs politics in the emergency mode. The effect of these governing patterns is not just to challenge and reshape ideas of EU legitimacy rooted in constitutionalism and technocracy. The politics of emergency fosters a counter-politics in its mirror image, as populists and others play with themes of necessity and claim the right to disobedience in extremis. The book examines the prospects for democracy once the politics of emergency takes hold, and what it might mean to put transnational politics on a different footing.

Research paper thumbnail of Jonathan White and Lea Ypi, The Meaning of Partisanship (Oxford University Press, 2016)

For a century at least, parties have been central to the study of politics. Yet their typical con... more For a century at least, parties have been central to the study of politics. Yet their typical conceptual reduction to a network of power-seeking elites has left many to wonder why parties were ever thought crucial to democracy. This book seeks to retrieve a richer conception of partisanship, drawing on modern political thought and extending it in the light of contemporary democratic theory and practice. Looking beyond the party as organization, the book develops an original account of what it is to be a partisan. It examines the ideas, orientations, obligations, and practices constitutive of partisanship properly understood, and how these intersect with the core features of democratic life. Such an account serves to underline in distinctive fashion why democracy needs its partisans, and puts in relief some of the key trends of contemporary politics.

Research paper thumbnail of Political Allegiance After European Integration (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)

Decades of co-rule have left EU citizens with attachments more complex than labels like 'European... more Decades of co-rule have left EU citizens with attachments more complex than labels like 'European' or 'national identity' would suggest. But what kind of ties should we be looking for? How can they be studied, and where does their democratic significance lie? This book combines a conceptual elaboration of the political bond with a sociological study of commonsense suppositions, based on interviews with groups of taxi-drivers in Germany, Britain and the Czech Republic. The author investigates allegiance not in directly-solicited views on European matters but in the expectations and reference-points evoked spontaneously in political discussion. A willingness to take the transnational view on many issues is clear. But how those issues are understood raises doubts about their European dimensions and scepticism about the possibilities for addressing them. Without changes in the way politics is conceived, arguments for the European polity are likely to ring hollow, and with them the formal ties of EU citizenship.

Papers by Jonathan White

Research paper thumbnail of The Future as a Democratic Resource (Perspectives on Politics, 2025)

Perspectives on Politics

Beliefs about the future shape attitudes, experiences and priorities in the present. This article... more Beliefs about the future shape attitudes, experiences and priorities in the present. This article explores the relationship between democracy and the expected world to come. As it argues, visions of the future are an important resource for democratic politics, as a way to put the present in critical perspective, to aid in the formation of a collective agent, and to consolidate commitment in adversity. Indirectly, they contribute also to the legitimacy of democratic institutions, shaping the exercise of citizenship and the capacity to contend with the flaws of representation. The democratic significance of the imagined future becomes all the more visible in today’s age of scepticism towards future-regarding politics, where speculative modes of thinking run up against the desire for certainty and precision.

Research paper thumbnail of Technocratic Myopia: on the pitfalls of depoliticising the future (European Journal of Social Theory, 2024)

European Journal of Social Theory

That democratic authorities are systematically focused on short-term considerations is a charge o... more That democratic authorities are systematically focused on short-term considerations is a charge often made. This ‘democratic myopia’ thesis typically becomes the basis for advocating the empowerment of technocratic institutions, e.g. in economic policy. Much less examined is what one may call the technocratic myopia thesis – the possibility that technocratic institutions have their own distinctive drivers of short-termism. This article presents the case, with reference to the legitimacy forms, epistemologies and organisational structures in which technocratic authority is grounded. The suggestion is that not only may technocrats fall short of the claims to long-sightedness made of them, but that this is directly bound up in some of the core features of the technocratic method. The article goes on to discuss the implications for how contemporary societies govern the future in key domains of public policy.

Research paper thumbnail of WhatsApp Government: on technology, legitimacy and the performance of roles (Journal of Politics, 2024)

Journal of Politics, 2024

Mobile instant messaging is widely used in governing circles today. This paper considers the impl... more Mobile instant messaging is widely used in governing circles today. This paper considers the implications for political legitimacy, examining how far the technology encourages those in authority to act consistently with the obligations that come with their roles. It looks at several recent political scandals in which officeholders are alleged to have transgressed public norms with their use of instant messaging. It goes on to argue the concerns raised are well grounded, as the affordances of the technology point to personalised, informal and untransparent modes of rule. As the final section argues, that figures in public authority embrace the technology despite the scandals it can yield tells us something important about their political priorities, in particular their willingness to prize output over procedural legitimacy.

Research paper thumbnail of What makes Climate Change a Populist Issue?

Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment Working Paper No. 401 , 2023

Migration, identity and the distribution of wealth and power were some of the key mobilising them... more Migration, identity and the distribution of wealth and power were some of the key mobilising themes for movements classed as populist over the 2010s. This paper examines the potential of climate change to be drawn into populist politics, as a factor that aggravates existing concerns and one that raises new questions. Populism, the paper suggests, finds resonance in the critique of political necessity, and prospers in emergency settings where policy is rationalised in these terms. As global warming comes to be framed as an emergency, it becomes a natural target for populist critique. The paper’s aim is to shed light on the politics of climate change, as well as to revisit what populism is and how much utility the concept retains.

Research paper thumbnail of Constitutionalising the EU in an Age of Emergencies (Journal of Common Market Studies, 2023)

Journal of Common Market Studies

Over the last decade especially, European authorities have successively invoked exceptional measu... more Over the last decade especially, European authorities have successively invoked exceptional measures in the name of exceptional circumstances. This improvised mode of emergency response raises problems for EU legitimacy. After a brief analysis of the core patterns, the article examines the scope for reform. It considers the case for pre-emptively strengthening the EU's emergency powers in the form of an 'emergency constitution'. It goes on to argue for more radical EU constitutional change, focused not on regulating the exceptional moment but simplifying and democratising executive power, such that when hard times arrive it is better tied to a critical public. A concluding section discusses what can be achieved by retrospective contestation, as an interim solution in advance of constitutional change.

Research paper thumbnail of Demokratie in Zeiten des Notstands (Leviathan: Berlin Journal of Social Sciences, 2023)

Leviathan: Berlin Journal of Social Sciences, 2023

Wenn wir uns in einer Zeit des demokratischen Unbehagens befinden, so liegt das auch daran, dass ... more Wenn wir uns in einer Zeit des demokratischen Unbehagens befinden, so liegt das auch daran, dass wir uns in einer Zeit der Notstandspolitik befinden. Der Eindruck, die Ausübung politischer Macht ergebe sich aus Notwendigkeiten, nicht aus Entscheidungen, verfestigt dabei ein Bild politischer Autorität als Negation von Handlungsfähigkeit. Dieser Beitrag untersucht, wie solches Agieren eine Gegenreaktion hervorruft: eine Politik – teils „Populismus“ genannt – die sich durch die Ablehnung der Notwendigkeit und die Zelebrierung des politischen Willens definiert. Im Gegenzug provozieren diese Strömungen weitere Notstandsmaßnahmen. Um diese Regressionszyklen zu unterbrechen bedarf es der Herausbildung programmatischer Politikformen, die sich weder auf das Notfallmanagement noch auf dessen voluntaristische Kritik reduzieren lassen.

Research paper thumbnail of Circadian Justice (Journal of Political Philosophy, 2022)

Journal of Political Philosophy

This article gives an empirically-grounded analysis of the normative problems arising in connecti... more This article gives an empirically-grounded analysis of the normative problems arising in connection with sleep. It takes as its point of departure three tendencies visible to varying degrees in present-day societies: the shortening of sleep, its irregularisation, and its desynchronisation. The article observes their capacity to generate injustice, identifying in particular how they produce social and political inequalities. Minorities arise characterised by their disadvantage on one or both counts. As the article further argues, adequately responding to these inequalities demands a wide-ranging approach, based on recognising the extent to which modern life is structured around sleep norms many no longer live by. Given the difficulty and undesirability of restoring the practices that underpin those norms, the challenge is develop societies that no longer presuppose them.

Research paper thumbnail of The De-Institutionalisation of Power Beyond the State (European Journal of International Relations, 2022)

European Journal of International Relations , 2022

The making of modern authority centred on efforts to formalise and de-personalise power, and tran... more The making of modern authority centred on efforts to formalise and de-personalise power, and transnational orders such as the European Union have often been viewed as an extension of that project. As this paper argues, recent developments tell a different story. More than a decade of crisis politics has seen institutions subordinated to and reshaped by individuals and the networks they form. Locating these tendencies in a wider historical context, the paper argues that greater attention to informality in transnational governance needs to be paired with greater recognition of the normative questions it raises. Just as a separation between rulers and the offices of rule was central to the making of modern legal and political structures, the weakening of that separation creates legitimacy problems for contemporary authorities both national and supranational. Rather than acclaimed as flexible problem-solving, the step back from institutions should be viewed as a challenge to accountable rule.

Research paper thumbnail of Europe and the Transnational Politics of Emergency (Kreuder-Sonnen & White; Journal of European Public Policy, 2021)

This piece outlines the concept of emergency politics as it may be applied to EU politics, distin... more This piece outlines the concept of emergency politics as it may be applied to EU politics, distinguishing it from more familiar terms such as crisis management. We define emergency politics as a mode of politics in which actions departing from convention are rationalised as necessary responses to exceptional and urgent threats. Arguably, the many crises affecting the EU in the recent past have made this mode increasingly salient. To capture its various expressions, the paper presents a new typology of the forms that emergency politics can take in this setting, identifying four in particular: supranational, multilateral, unilateral and domestic. It connects these to the events of the last decade, spanning eurozone economics, migration, and Covid-19. We conclude by considering the variable consequences of these different types of emergency politics, in particular for the EU's normative and sociological legitimacy.

Research paper thumbnail of Crises and the Limits of the Possible (Biblioteca della libertà, 2022)

Biblioteca della libertà, 2022

This short essay considers the long-term legacies of turbulent times for the exercise of politica... more This short essay considers the long-term legacies of turbulent times for the exercise of political agency. It distinguishes two widespread views, centred on the enabling and disabling effects of crisis, and traces the logic and limits of each. The essay goes on to assess some features of contemporary European and EU politics in light of these observations, highlighting some of the ways that Covid-19 has been used as a pretext to consolidate rather than transform the existing order.

Research paper thumbnail of Emergency Politics after Globalization (Heupel, Koenig-Archibugi, Kreuder-Sonnen, Patberg, Séville, Steffek and White; International Studies Review, 2021)

International Studies Review, 2021

Exceptional times call for exceptional measures-this formula is all too familiar in the domestic ... more Exceptional times call for exceptional measures-this formula is all too familiar in the domestic setting. Governments have often played loose with their state's constitution in the name of warding off an urgent threat. But after decades of increasing interconnectedness and emerging transnational governance, today one sees new forms of emergency politics that are cross-border in range. From the European Union (EU) to the World Health Organization (WHO), from supranational institutions to state governments acting in concert, the logic of emergency is embraced in international contexts, with Covid-19 the latest occasion. This Forum offers an entry-point into this emerging phenomenon. Taking as its point of departure two recent books, it examines the origins, forms, effects and normative stakes of emergency politics beyond the state. Amongst the matters discussed are the concept of emergency politics, the historical context of its contemporary forms, the patterns of decision-making associated with it, the implications for the legitimacy of transnational institutions, and the constitutional and political ways in which it might be contained. Transnational emergency politics seems likely to remain a central feature of the coming years, and our aim is to further its study in IR.

Research paper thumbnail of Emergency Europe after Covid-19

The political response to the pandemic has ranged from the extraordinary domestic measures of nat... more The political response to the pandemic has ranged from the extraordinary domestic measures of national governments to the exceptionalism of supranational authorities and of governments in concert. While moves of the first kind recall the Hobbesian sovereign state, the latter mark a distinctively transnational and diffuse form of emergency politics, most visible in the European Union. This piece examines this relatively new mode of emergency rule, which extends patterns emerging over more than a decade. It shows how these produce new variations on familiar democratic problems of informal and concentrated power, how they can incite a reactionary response, and what these observations imply for the EU’s future.

Research paper thumbnail of Europeanizing Ideologies (Journal of European Public Policy, 2020)

Journal of European Public Policy

This paper explores the relationship between ideology, the state and the transnational as it bear... more This paper explores the relationship between ideology, the state and the transnational as it bears on European integration. Though typically studied in national contexts, ideologies and their clash have been Europe-wide since their emergence. As I argue, the European Union (EU) can be understood both as the continuation of these long-standing cross-border dynamics, and as the attempt to supersede them. Contemporary developments renew this dialectic. By exploring how ideology and European integration entwine, the paper underlines the value of a research agenda of heightened importance as the ideological hegemony of recent decades breaks down.

Research paper thumbnail of Reselection and Deselection in the Political Party, forthcoming in The Politics of Recall Elections (Welp Y. and Whitehead L. eds) (Basingstoke: Palgrave)

Reselection and deselection are often treated as mechanisms of direct democracy, at odds with any... more Reselection and deselection are often treated as mechanisms of direct democracy, at odds with any meaningful transfer of decision-making authority to others. This paper argues that the representative and direct dimensions of democracy may be complementary and that recall mechanisms in political parties can be used to reinforce their programmatic basis and to consolidate the reasons people have to associate with parties in the first place. The paper defends a principled use of reselection and deselection mechanisms in political parties, and answers four main criticisms that the view typically attracts: the constituency objection, the responsibility objection, the incentives objection and the efficiency objection.

Research paper thumbnail of What kind of electoral system sustains a politics of firm commitments? (Representation, 2021)

Representation, 2021

In an age of grand coalitions, and widespread dissatisfaction with them, it is clear that one of ... more In an age of grand coalitions, and widespread dissatisfaction with them, it is clear that one of the major challenges for contemporary parties is to pursue power without sacrificing the principles by which they define themselves. This points to one of the most important yet neglected criteria by which to assess an electoral system: its capacity to sustain principled partisanship. This paper makes a case for the distinctiveness of this criterion and why it should receive more attention. Drawing on the comparative politics of electoral systems, it examines the kinds of institutional feature relevant to an evaluation in these terms, and what it might mean to make institutions more conducive to a politics of firm commitments.

Research paper thumbnail of Recalling Representatives (forthcoming in The Future of Democracy, eds. M. Battini and N. Urbinati, Milan: Feltrinelli)

The paper explores the ethics of recalling representatives in the context of a democratic concept... more The paper explores the ethics of recalling representatives in the context of a democratic conception of partisanship and related defence of political parties. It examines the promise of recall mechanism in light of the difficulties that liberal conceptions of representation have in realising the value of self-government. It defends the role of recall mechanisms within political parties (both mandatory reselection and deselection of representatives), responds to objections and concludes that recall mechanisms play an important role in bridging the gap between direct democracy and representative institutions.

Research paper thumbnail of In the Long Run: the Future as a Political Idea (Profile Books, 2024)

Democracy is future-oriented and self-correcting: today's problems can be solved, we are told, in... more Democracy is future-oriented and self-correcting: today's problems can be solved, we are told, in tomorrow's elections. But the biggest issues facing the modern world - from climate collapse and pandemics to recession and world war - each apparently bring us to the edge of the irreversible. What happens to democracy when the future seems no longer open?

Research paper thumbnail of Politics of Last Resort: Governing by Emergency in the European Union (Oxford University Press, 2019 / 2020), Introduction

Oxford University Press, 2019

Prominent in the EU’s recent transformations has been the tendency to advance extraordinary measu... more Prominent in the EU’s recent transformations has been the tendency to advance extraordinary measures in the name of crisis response. From emergency lending to macro-economics, border management to Brexit, policies are pursued unconventionally and as measures of last resort. This book investigates the nature, rise, and implications of this politics of emergency as it appears in the transnational setting. As the author argues, recourse to this method of rule is an expression of the deeper weakness of executive power in today’s Europe. It is how policy-makers contend with rising socio-economic pressures and diminishing representative ties, seeking fall-back authority in the management of crises. In the structure of the EU they find incentives and few impediments. Whereas political exceptionalism tends to be associated with sovereign power, here it is power’s diffusion and functional disaggregation that spurs politics in the emergency mode. The effect of these governing patterns is not just to challenge and reshape ideas of EU legitimacy rooted in constitutionalism and technocracy. The politics of emergency fosters a counter-politics in its mirror image, as populists and others play with themes of necessity and claim the right to disobedience in extremis. The book examines the prospects for democracy once the politics of emergency takes hold, and what it might mean to put transnational politics on a different footing.

Research paper thumbnail of Jonathan White and Lea Ypi, The Meaning of Partisanship (Oxford University Press, 2016)

For a century at least, parties have been central to the study of politics. Yet their typical con... more For a century at least, parties have been central to the study of politics. Yet their typical conceptual reduction to a network of power-seeking elites has left many to wonder why parties were ever thought crucial to democracy. This book seeks to retrieve a richer conception of partisanship, drawing on modern political thought and extending it in the light of contemporary democratic theory and practice. Looking beyond the party as organization, the book develops an original account of what it is to be a partisan. It examines the ideas, orientations, obligations, and practices constitutive of partisanship properly understood, and how these intersect with the core features of democratic life. Such an account serves to underline in distinctive fashion why democracy needs its partisans, and puts in relief some of the key trends of contemporary politics.

Research paper thumbnail of Political Allegiance After European Integration (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)

Decades of co-rule have left EU citizens with attachments more complex than labels like 'European... more Decades of co-rule have left EU citizens with attachments more complex than labels like 'European' or 'national identity' would suggest. But what kind of ties should we be looking for? How can they be studied, and where does their democratic significance lie? This book combines a conceptual elaboration of the political bond with a sociological study of commonsense suppositions, based on interviews with groups of taxi-drivers in Germany, Britain and the Czech Republic. The author investigates allegiance not in directly-solicited views on European matters but in the expectations and reference-points evoked spontaneously in political discussion. A willingness to take the transnational view on many issues is clear. But how those issues are understood raises doubts about their European dimensions and scepticism about the possibilities for addressing them. Without changes in the way politics is conceived, arguments for the European polity are likely to ring hollow, and with them the formal ties of EU citizenship.

Research paper thumbnail of The Future as a Democratic Resource (Perspectives on Politics, 2025)

Perspectives on Politics

Beliefs about the future shape attitudes, experiences and priorities in the present. This article... more Beliefs about the future shape attitudes, experiences and priorities in the present. This article explores the relationship between democracy and the expected world to come. As it argues, visions of the future are an important resource for democratic politics, as a way to put the present in critical perspective, to aid in the formation of a collective agent, and to consolidate commitment in adversity. Indirectly, they contribute also to the legitimacy of democratic institutions, shaping the exercise of citizenship and the capacity to contend with the flaws of representation. The democratic significance of the imagined future becomes all the more visible in today’s age of scepticism towards future-regarding politics, where speculative modes of thinking run up against the desire for certainty and precision.

Research paper thumbnail of Technocratic Myopia: on the pitfalls of depoliticising the future (European Journal of Social Theory, 2024)

European Journal of Social Theory

That democratic authorities are systematically focused on short-term considerations is a charge o... more That democratic authorities are systematically focused on short-term considerations is a charge often made. This ‘democratic myopia’ thesis typically becomes the basis for advocating the empowerment of technocratic institutions, e.g. in economic policy. Much less examined is what one may call the technocratic myopia thesis – the possibility that technocratic institutions have their own distinctive drivers of short-termism. This article presents the case, with reference to the legitimacy forms, epistemologies and organisational structures in which technocratic authority is grounded. The suggestion is that not only may technocrats fall short of the claims to long-sightedness made of them, but that this is directly bound up in some of the core features of the technocratic method. The article goes on to discuss the implications for how contemporary societies govern the future in key domains of public policy.

Research paper thumbnail of WhatsApp Government: on technology, legitimacy and the performance of roles (Journal of Politics, 2024)

Journal of Politics, 2024

Mobile instant messaging is widely used in governing circles today. This paper considers the impl... more Mobile instant messaging is widely used in governing circles today. This paper considers the implications for political legitimacy, examining how far the technology encourages those in authority to act consistently with the obligations that come with their roles. It looks at several recent political scandals in which officeholders are alleged to have transgressed public norms with their use of instant messaging. It goes on to argue the concerns raised are well grounded, as the affordances of the technology point to personalised, informal and untransparent modes of rule. As the final section argues, that figures in public authority embrace the technology despite the scandals it can yield tells us something important about their political priorities, in particular their willingness to prize output over procedural legitimacy.

Research paper thumbnail of What makes Climate Change a Populist Issue?

Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment Working Paper No. 401 , 2023

Migration, identity and the distribution of wealth and power were some of the key mobilising them... more Migration, identity and the distribution of wealth and power were some of the key mobilising themes for movements classed as populist over the 2010s. This paper examines the potential of climate change to be drawn into populist politics, as a factor that aggravates existing concerns and one that raises new questions. Populism, the paper suggests, finds resonance in the critique of political necessity, and prospers in emergency settings where policy is rationalised in these terms. As global warming comes to be framed as an emergency, it becomes a natural target for populist critique. The paper’s aim is to shed light on the politics of climate change, as well as to revisit what populism is and how much utility the concept retains.

Research paper thumbnail of Constitutionalising the EU in an Age of Emergencies (Journal of Common Market Studies, 2023)

Journal of Common Market Studies

Over the last decade especially, European authorities have successively invoked exceptional measu... more Over the last decade especially, European authorities have successively invoked exceptional measures in the name of exceptional circumstances. This improvised mode of emergency response raises problems for EU legitimacy. After a brief analysis of the core patterns, the article examines the scope for reform. It considers the case for pre-emptively strengthening the EU's emergency powers in the form of an 'emergency constitution'. It goes on to argue for more radical EU constitutional change, focused not on regulating the exceptional moment but simplifying and democratising executive power, such that when hard times arrive it is better tied to a critical public. A concluding section discusses what can be achieved by retrospective contestation, as an interim solution in advance of constitutional change.

Research paper thumbnail of Demokratie in Zeiten des Notstands (Leviathan: Berlin Journal of Social Sciences, 2023)

Leviathan: Berlin Journal of Social Sciences, 2023

Wenn wir uns in einer Zeit des demokratischen Unbehagens befinden, so liegt das auch daran, dass ... more Wenn wir uns in einer Zeit des demokratischen Unbehagens befinden, so liegt das auch daran, dass wir uns in einer Zeit der Notstandspolitik befinden. Der Eindruck, die Ausübung politischer Macht ergebe sich aus Notwendigkeiten, nicht aus Entscheidungen, verfestigt dabei ein Bild politischer Autorität als Negation von Handlungsfähigkeit. Dieser Beitrag untersucht, wie solches Agieren eine Gegenreaktion hervorruft: eine Politik – teils „Populismus“ genannt – die sich durch die Ablehnung der Notwendigkeit und die Zelebrierung des politischen Willens definiert. Im Gegenzug provozieren diese Strömungen weitere Notstandsmaßnahmen. Um diese Regressionszyklen zu unterbrechen bedarf es der Herausbildung programmatischer Politikformen, die sich weder auf das Notfallmanagement noch auf dessen voluntaristische Kritik reduzieren lassen.

Research paper thumbnail of Circadian Justice (Journal of Political Philosophy, 2022)

Journal of Political Philosophy

This article gives an empirically-grounded analysis of the normative problems arising in connecti... more This article gives an empirically-grounded analysis of the normative problems arising in connection with sleep. It takes as its point of departure three tendencies visible to varying degrees in present-day societies: the shortening of sleep, its irregularisation, and its desynchronisation. The article observes their capacity to generate injustice, identifying in particular how they produce social and political inequalities. Minorities arise characterised by their disadvantage on one or both counts. As the article further argues, adequately responding to these inequalities demands a wide-ranging approach, based on recognising the extent to which modern life is structured around sleep norms many no longer live by. Given the difficulty and undesirability of restoring the practices that underpin those norms, the challenge is develop societies that no longer presuppose them.

Research paper thumbnail of The De-Institutionalisation of Power Beyond the State (European Journal of International Relations, 2022)

European Journal of International Relations , 2022

The making of modern authority centred on efforts to formalise and de-personalise power, and tran... more The making of modern authority centred on efforts to formalise and de-personalise power, and transnational orders such as the European Union have often been viewed as an extension of that project. As this paper argues, recent developments tell a different story. More than a decade of crisis politics has seen institutions subordinated to and reshaped by individuals and the networks they form. Locating these tendencies in a wider historical context, the paper argues that greater attention to informality in transnational governance needs to be paired with greater recognition of the normative questions it raises. Just as a separation between rulers and the offices of rule was central to the making of modern legal and political structures, the weakening of that separation creates legitimacy problems for contemporary authorities both national and supranational. Rather than acclaimed as flexible problem-solving, the step back from institutions should be viewed as a challenge to accountable rule.

Research paper thumbnail of Europe and the Transnational Politics of Emergency (Kreuder-Sonnen & White; Journal of European Public Policy, 2021)

This piece outlines the concept of emergency politics as it may be applied to EU politics, distin... more This piece outlines the concept of emergency politics as it may be applied to EU politics, distinguishing it from more familiar terms such as crisis management. We define emergency politics as a mode of politics in which actions departing from convention are rationalised as necessary responses to exceptional and urgent threats. Arguably, the many crises affecting the EU in the recent past have made this mode increasingly salient. To capture its various expressions, the paper presents a new typology of the forms that emergency politics can take in this setting, identifying four in particular: supranational, multilateral, unilateral and domestic. It connects these to the events of the last decade, spanning eurozone economics, migration, and Covid-19. We conclude by considering the variable consequences of these different types of emergency politics, in particular for the EU's normative and sociological legitimacy.

Research paper thumbnail of Crises and the Limits of the Possible (Biblioteca della libertà, 2022)

Biblioteca della libertà, 2022

This short essay considers the long-term legacies of turbulent times for the exercise of politica... more This short essay considers the long-term legacies of turbulent times for the exercise of political agency. It distinguishes two widespread views, centred on the enabling and disabling effects of crisis, and traces the logic and limits of each. The essay goes on to assess some features of contemporary European and EU politics in light of these observations, highlighting some of the ways that Covid-19 has been used as a pretext to consolidate rather than transform the existing order.

Research paper thumbnail of Emergency Politics after Globalization (Heupel, Koenig-Archibugi, Kreuder-Sonnen, Patberg, Séville, Steffek and White; International Studies Review, 2021)

International Studies Review, 2021

Exceptional times call for exceptional measures-this formula is all too familiar in the domestic ... more Exceptional times call for exceptional measures-this formula is all too familiar in the domestic setting. Governments have often played loose with their state's constitution in the name of warding off an urgent threat. But after decades of increasing interconnectedness and emerging transnational governance, today one sees new forms of emergency politics that are cross-border in range. From the European Union (EU) to the World Health Organization (WHO), from supranational institutions to state governments acting in concert, the logic of emergency is embraced in international contexts, with Covid-19 the latest occasion. This Forum offers an entry-point into this emerging phenomenon. Taking as its point of departure two recent books, it examines the origins, forms, effects and normative stakes of emergency politics beyond the state. Amongst the matters discussed are the concept of emergency politics, the historical context of its contemporary forms, the patterns of decision-making associated with it, the implications for the legitimacy of transnational institutions, and the constitutional and political ways in which it might be contained. Transnational emergency politics seems likely to remain a central feature of the coming years, and our aim is to further its study in IR.

Research paper thumbnail of Emergency Europe after Covid-19

The political response to the pandemic has ranged from the extraordinary domestic measures of nat... more The political response to the pandemic has ranged from the extraordinary domestic measures of national governments to the exceptionalism of supranational authorities and of governments in concert. While moves of the first kind recall the Hobbesian sovereign state, the latter mark a distinctively transnational and diffuse form of emergency politics, most visible in the European Union. This piece examines this relatively new mode of emergency rule, which extends patterns emerging over more than a decade. It shows how these produce new variations on familiar democratic problems of informal and concentrated power, how they can incite a reactionary response, and what these observations imply for the EU’s future.

Research paper thumbnail of Europeanizing Ideologies (Journal of European Public Policy, 2020)

Journal of European Public Policy

This paper explores the relationship between ideology, the state and the transnational as it bear... more This paper explores the relationship between ideology, the state and the transnational as it bears on European integration. Though typically studied in national contexts, ideologies and their clash have been Europe-wide since their emergence. As I argue, the European Union (EU) can be understood both as the continuation of these long-standing cross-border dynamics, and as the attempt to supersede them. Contemporary developments renew this dialectic. By exploring how ideology and European integration entwine, the paper underlines the value of a research agenda of heightened importance as the ideological hegemony of recent decades breaks down.

Research paper thumbnail of Reselection and Deselection in the Political Party, forthcoming in The Politics of Recall Elections (Welp Y. and Whitehead L. eds) (Basingstoke: Palgrave)

Reselection and deselection are often treated as mechanisms of direct democracy, at odds with any... more Reselection and deselection are often treated as mechanisms of direct democracy, at odds with any meaningful transfer of decision-making authority to others. This paper argues that the representative and direct dimensions of democracy may be complementary and that recall mechanisms in political parties can be used to reinforce their programmatic basis and to consolidate the reasons people have to associate with parties in the first place. The paper defends a principled use of reselection and deselection mechanisms in political parties, and answers four main criticisms that the view typically attracts: the constituency objection, the responsibility objection, the incentives objection and the efficiency objection.

Research paper thumbnail of What kind of electoral system sustains a politics of firm commitments? (Representation, 2021)

Representation, 2021

In an age of grand coalitions, and widespread dissatisfaction with them, it is clear that one of ... more In an age of grand coalitions, and widespread dissatisfaction with them, it is clear that one of the major challenges for contemporary parties is to pursue power without sacrificing the principles by which they define themselves. This points to one of the most important yet neglected criteria by which to assess an electoral system: its capacity to sustain principled partisanship. This paper makes a case for the distinctiveness of this criterion and why it should receive more attention. Drawing on the comparative politics of electoral systems, it examines the kinds of institutional feature relevant to an evaluation in these terms, and what it might mean to make institutions more conducive to a politics of firm commitments.

Research paper thumbnail of Recalling Representatives (forthcoming in The Future of Democracy, eds. M. Battini and N. Urbinati, Milan: Feltrinelli)

The paper explores the ethics of recalling representatives in the context of a democratic concept... more The paper explores the ethics of recalling representatives in the context of a democratic conception of partisanship and related defence of political parties. It examines the promise of recall mechanism in light of the difficulties that liberal conceptions of representation have in realising the value of self-government. It defends the role of recall mechanisms within political parties (both mandatory reselection and deselection of representatives), responds to objections and concludes that recall mechanisms play an important role in bridging the gap between direct democracy and representative institutions.

Research paper thumbnail of Political Theory Review Symposium on White & Ypi, Meaning of Partisanship, Political Theory (forthcoming)

This review symposium contains commentaries on "The Meaning of Partisanship" by Russell Muirhead,... more This review symposium contains commentaries on "The Meaning of Partisanship" by Russell Muirhead, Daniel Weinstock and Nadia Urbinati, as well as a response by Jonathan White and Lea Ypi.

Research paper thumbnail of Critical Dialogue, Perspectives on Politics

Jonathan White and Lea Ypi review "Faces of Moderation", Aurelian Craiutu reviews "The Meaning of... more Jonathan White and Lea Ypi review "Faces of Moderation", Aurelian Craiutu reviews "The Meaning of Partisanship", with responses from authors.

Research paper thumbnail of In Defence of Political Parties: A Symposium on Jonathan White and Lea Ypi's The Meaning of Partisanship, Political Studies Review, edited by Matteo Bonotti

Research paper thumbnail of British Academy Brian Barry Prize Essay: The Ethics of Political Alliance (British Journal of Political Science, 2018)

Usually pictured in relations of opposition, political parties are sometimes inclined to make all... more Usually pictured in relations of opposition, political parties are sometimes inclined to make alliance. The paper examines the ethical questions such arrangements give rise to. It considers first the formal characteristics of alliance as a distinctive form of association, moving on to examine what reasons for alliance are good reasons. Intrinsic arguments that invoke epistemic or democratic criteria, and instrumental arguments invoking areas of shared programme or imperfect institutions, are weighed in turn, with the latter judged to be more consistent with the partisan ethos. The final section examines the normative standards to which alliances should be held once formed.

Research paper thumbnail of The Future as a Political Idea (book Q&A, LSE Review of Books, 2024)

LSE Review of Books, 2024

Discussion of In the Long Run: the Future as a Political Idea

Research paper thumbnail of 'Poor Sleep' (Aeon, 2022)

Aeon

For Uber drivers trying to make ends meet, it can be tempting to sleep in the car. It saves on a ... more For Uber drivers trying to make ends meet, it can be tempting to sleep in the car. It saves on a few journeys and helps make the most of peak-hour business. It keeps a driver readily available for work-and the apps favour those who can clock up the hours. There are carparks where the sleeping bags come out after dark, if only for five or six hours. Sleeping in a vehicle is clearly not great. There are the obvious obstacles to adequate resthow to get comfortable, how to deal with the light, temperature and lack of facilities. The sleep is typically short and poor. Then there are questions of privacy-exposure to onlookers, from passersby to police. Sleeping in a car means breaking a norm, often attracting suspicion. To sleep where you work has its own degradations-a sense of permanent connection, perhaps of exploitation. And it almost certainly means sleeping alone. The carpark sleeper is one of the more dramatic expressions of poor sleep in the contemporary world. Across many walks of life, spanning public and private sectors, people are sleeping badly-and some much more so than others. Between the poles of homelessness and luxury lie multiple varieties of quiet suffering. One effect of COVID-19has been to highlight inequalities in who gets to sleep well, with such figures as the exhausted medic or delivery-driver coming to symbolise the exceptional demands that fall on some. The divides around sleep have rarely been starker. When sleep is lacking or disrupted, and especially when these problems are unevenly spread, questions of justice arise. Harmful, undeserved and avoidable forms of inequality emerge, as people find themselves living at odds with the demands of their body and the norms of a wider society. A range of physical, material and social hardships kick in, often paired with political handicaps to do with the exercise of rights. To be deprived of sleep is to be deprived of much more than one's hours of rest. Moreover, those spared these hardships tend to contribute, if unintentionally, to perpetuating the problems, and often benefit from them too. This is the domain of circadian justice, where the banners read: No equality without equality of proper sleep!

Research paper thumbnail of Whatsapp Europe (Social Europe, 2022)

In April 2021, the New York Times reported that the EU's vaccine deal with Pfizer had been negoti... more In April 2021, the New York Times reported that the EU's vaccine deal with Pfizer had been negotiated by a series of text messages and calls between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the company's chief executive. 'That personal diplomacy played a big role in a deal', said the newspaper. This suggestion of one-to-one negotiation on a high-profile matter raised several eyebrows and prompted calls for the messages to be made public. The Commission refused, saying it kept no records. At the request of the European Ombudsman, Europe's supranational executive is currently reviewing its policies on what material it chooses to retain, while MEPs are suing the Commission in a bid to get it to disclose the vaccine contracts. Concerns about text-message diplomacy have been around for some time. What the President of the European Council sent EU heads of state was the subject of an unsuccessful access request in 2018. But with the pandemic these concerns gained urgency. The suspension of faceto-face meetings meant much of the business of governing shifted online. Interactions that were previously in-person now found outlet in electronic form, at the very time the EU faced some of the biggest decisions in its history. A context of emergency meant pressure for rapid coordination, while the stakes and sums involved were higher than ever. Critical discussion of government-by-text has tended to focus on access. Officials, it seems, are creating a string of important messages that the public struggles to get hold of, whether because records are deleted or not even kept. The way to keep something secret, it appears, is to do it on Whatsapp. These concerns about transparency are well taken, highlighting the challenges faced by the wider public in scrutinising who does what and based on what reasoning. They build on long-standing concerns that the important conversations are had in the hallways and over dinner, where no public record is taken. But the questions raised by messaging go beyond this. More than just a matter of later accountability, they are about how key decisions are taken in the moment. As discussions move from physical space to the virtual space of the chat group, they move into a world of heightened informality and strategic inclusion and exclusion. Consider some features of the technology. Unlike a physical meeting, this is a form of interaction with no set beginning or end. Lacking a defined set of temporal boundaries, conversations begin at the initiative of one party, and the technology is designed to encourage quick responses. A recent case in Spain illustrates the risks. On 24 th March 2020, Madrid's mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida is said to have got agreement for medical-supply contracts in a brief Whatsapp exchange with city representatives sometime after 1am. The deliberation could have been better: the deal involved a relative of the mayor, was pushed through without consideration of alternatives, and was later denounced as a 'scam' at the city's expense. Even at the best of times, instant messages are short, and so inevitably weak on nuance, detail and complexity. Relative to other written forms of communication, including email (where messages can be flagged for later), they invite accelerated interaction. Participants must keep active to sustain the exchange. Its spontaneous nature also means those involved are often being extracted from another activity-e.g. a parallel conversation-or caught at an informal moment. This is a medium conducive to a state of distraction, also to a less guarded manner. Clearly the effect of such features depends on how the technology is used. Not everyone is texting in their pyjamas or cooking a meal at the same time. And sometimes these interactions are just a preface to others in a more formal context. But insofar as they shape opinions, foster sympathies, coordinate positions and build asymmetries of knowledge, they are an important

Research paper thumbnail of La politique de l'urgence : une conversation avec Jonathan White (Le Grand Continent, Oct 2021)

Research paper thumbnail of Emergency Politics and the Corona-crisis: a book discussion (ResetDoc 2020)

Research paper thumbnail of Technocracy after COVID-19 (Boston Review, 2020)

Research paper thumbnail of The crisis trap: the EU and the coronavirus (New Statesman, 2020)

History shows that when leaders are forced to take emergency action, power tends to be relocated ... more History shows that when leaders are forced to take emergency action, power tends to be relocated to small and opaque groups.

Research paper thumbnail of COVID-19 and the language of pathology (LSE blog, 2020)

Research paper thumbnail of A once-in-a-lifetime election? (Guardian, 2019)

Thursday’s vote has been billed as an irreversible referendum on our future. But that’s not how d... more Thursday’s vote has been billed as an irreversible referendum on our future. But that’s not how democracy is supposed to work.

Research paper thumbnail of The danger of personalised power in the EU (New Statesman, 2019)

The EU has frequently been caricatured as a 'faceless bureaucracy', where rules and procedures ta... more The EU has frequently been caricatured as a 'faceless bureaucracy', where rules and procedures take precedence over powerful personalities. Yet this depersonalisation of power has recently been challenged by the emergence of some visible, decisive figures. Jonathan White argues that while this may be seen as a welcome improvement by some observers, when power is located in a small, rotating cast of individuals acting at their own discretion, it rests on a precarious foundation.

Research paper thumbnail of Proroguing parliament is bigger than Brexit (Guardian, 2019)

Research paper thumbnail of Brexit Emergency Politics (LSE blog, 2019)

Research paper thumbnail of The pitfalls of generational thinking (OpenDemocracy 2018)

Research paper thumbnail of 2017 UK general election - Labour's 'youth-quake'? (LSE blog, June 2017)

Why trying to understand GE2017 as "the young vs the old" is a bad idea Click to share on Twitter... more Why trying to understand GE2017 as "the young vs the old" is a bad idea Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/why-youthquake-is-a-bad-idea/#

Research paper thumbnail of Are the UK Conservatives even a real party? (Euronews, June 2017)

Research paper thumbnail of Brexit, Populism and the Promise of Agency (OpenDemocracy, 2017)

Research paper thumbnail of Review essay on "The End of the Eurocrats' Dream" (verfassungsblog.de, 2016)

Research paper thumbnail of Party members (The Conversation, 2016)

Why do we treat political party members as oddballs and zealots?

Research paper thumbnail of Review essay on The Lure of Technocracy (Boston Review, 2015)

Research paper thumbnail of Corbyn's Labour (LSE politics blog, 2015)

A political party is an entity that outlives the contribution of a particular set of individuals;... more A political party is an entity that outlives the contribution of a particular set of individuals; partisanship is a long-term, cumulative activity. The challenge for the Labour Party is how to retain this sense of the party as a long-term association as it opens up to a larger supporter base and more fluid form of association, writes Jonathan White.